cheating/binging after a workout...

[JustBrowsin]

every few weeks while i bulk I plan to have lunch or dinner w/ my sister at the university dining hall (no way she'll use all of the meals on her plan, so thats free food for me). Now as many of you know, this is a cheat meal waiting to happen. I think it would be most convenient to go immediately following a workout since I'll be on campus anyway. Should I just ditch my shake and not worry about the ppwo meal and just go for my humongous cheat straight from the weight room and then have another normal meal a few hours after that? The food I plan on consuming and the quantities will most certainly provide a supply of protein and a significant insulin spike.. so i should be set right?

[No Memory]

You need some fast-acting protein and carbs immediately following your work-out. Personally, I'd wait no more than 10 minutes following a work-out to get some calories in me.

Have your shake, and eat 1 1/2 hours later. Don't binge often, and make sure to get sufficient protein even if you binge.

[zackmurphy]

Very very bad idea if you wish to make the most of your gym efforts. When your muscles are glycogen depleted and jonesing for protein to help rebuild the tissue you just broke down, your body just wants (as CW330 said) protein and carbs.

But it goes beyond that, with nutrient partitioning. After a workout, a well-timed, clean meal can be assured of sending ALL protein right to your muscles for tissue creation and recovery, and ALL of the carbohydates to your muscles to restock glycogen. This is a rare situation, and you should take advantage of it. When you add fats (or simple carbs) to that mix, digestion slows and nutrients aren't distributed quite as efficiently.

The last mean BEFORE your workout, and the 2 that immediately FOLLOW it are essential to keep clean.

[JustBrowsin]

makes sense. Its not that ridiculous urge that cant go unfulfilled, just trying to figure out the best and most convenient way to schedule my all out cheats. Guess I'll be working out in the morning, carrying on as normal and returning at night for the face-stuffing frenzy if desired. Thanks for the replies

[zackmurphy]

makes sense. Its not that ridiculous urge that cant go unfulfilled, just trying to figure out the best and most convenient way to schedule my all out cheats. Guess I'll be working out in the morning, carrying on as normal and returning at night for the face-stuffing frenzy if desired. Thanks for the replies

Off days are best. Days when you're only doing cardio are fine (though if the cardio is intense, treat it like a lifting workout). The evening of a morning workout is fine.

[uhockey]

Zack, are you advocating cheat days for off days? What is the logic of this? I understand late after a morning workout or on cardio days, but why on off days?

[zackmurphy]

Zack, are you advocating cheat days for off days? What is the logic of this? I understand late after a morning workout or on cardio days, but why on off days?

Because... a couple things.

1. It interferes LEAST with your workouts.

2. Only you and fitness brain think on a 24-hour clock. You isolate "days" of food and what you're getting each "day". Isolating your food intake and exercise output to a 1-day scale is a real disservice to you, since you're working hard to do the right thing, but your body is playing by a different plan.

Your body is working on a 1-month or 3-month plan with respect to calorie needs, consumption demands, fat storage, etc., constantly planning for a rainy day, or eventual starvation. Just about the only thing you can get it to change on a shorter time frame is metabolic rate and perhaps leptin release (and this is a huge help to you), and even that takes a few days to shift.

So having a cheat day on an off day (when you'll not be on the treadmill or running or whatever) is pretty meaningless. Over the span of a month, no big deal.

And for a quick illustration of this, think on your body's timeline (a month for example) for a moment. You eat 2000cal/day - that's 60,000/month. So what if one of those days is 2500 and another is 1500. The total is the same. And if you're simply adding a cheat day, so what if the total is 61,000 this month instead of 60,000. Not a big deal.

[saw14]

hey zach i have a question for you. do you ever cheat on your meal plan, like those that partake in the cheat thread? i was reading this thread and saw that you have a lot of good info on the timing/concept of cheating but i always was wondering if you cheat. also if you do cheat, are you a cheat meal or cheat day person?

[zackmurphy]

hey zach i have a question for you. do you ever cheat on your meal plan, like those that partake in the cheat thread? i was reading this thread and saw that you have a lot of good info on the timing/concept of cheating but i always was wondering if you cheat. also if you do cheat, are you a cheat meal or cheat day person?

Funny you should ask. I really don't. I've found combinations of meals that I truly like eating (as have most of you, I know), and I don't feel the need to cheat, since all day I'm eating food I like. And I really LOVE to eat clean. I love that feeling.

That said, if I have to go to a wedding or a party or something, I'm not a wallflower. I'll have the cake or whatever crappy food is served, but it's an isolated thing, and I don't seek it out.

I never get a jonesing for junk, either. Don't know why. When I decided to stop being fat (years ago), that was it.

But I do have ideas from a dietary standpoint, and from the view of physiology and nutrition of how to MANAGE cheat meals. And that's the stuff I've been explaining here. Nothing spectacularly original about my views - just big picture stuff. Perspective.

[bkman4]

If you don't make you living with your body, do it. It's the 90% that counts, have fun with the 10%!!!